Home Video Exclusives

[JohnIan101]

Past Tense - Naughty Science Part I


[An earlier version of this PT was originally posted on June 4th, 2015 on JoBlo's "DVD, Blu-Ray & Home Theater Discussion" forum.]

Are your intimate delights shared? Or are you on the fringe? Find out in "Masters Of Sex"...



"Masters Of Sex: Season One" was released on home video on June 24th, 2014.

It streeted against "The Boondocks: Season Four", "300: Rise Of An Empire" and "Lost Girl: The Complete Fourth Season".

The DVD did not come with a slipcover, but the Blu-Ray edition did. This originally came with single, one sided small insert, an advertisement for the show's second season on Showtime.

It's so weird, Michael Sheen looks like actor Giovanni Ribisi in the poster. Dude, shouldn't you be helping Sky Captain?

And yeah, that's a great promo poster.

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Welcome back to "Master" month - bring your lollis and loose change. Why? 'Cause I probably need that change and would like some candy. Don't try to understand.

This particular had one exclusive and a freebee. How great depends on what you consider more important to you.



Target had an exclusive bonus disc; this DVD was available for both editions. The set sold for $29.99 (DVD) and $34.99 (BD).

The disc came in a white CD envelope inside the case. It has a run time of 11:22 minutes, presented in widescreen.

Best Buy offered a free $5.00 gift card with purchase; $31.99 for DVD or $36.99 for Blu-Ray. As you would expect, I didn't purchase here. In fact, I almost didn't get my copy...

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Rant.

At the time; my car was having power issues, turns out the clutch was dying. An expensive repair, but far cheaper than going to a shop.

It pays to have family friends who can fix cars - especially ones who used to be mechanic. It took three days to mend (mostly getting the right parts); Sunday to Tuesday at my home. He made a house call. I am most grateful.

So I wasn't focused on any titles that week. I just wanted my car back. It's depressing without wheels, mundane things like getting groceries becomes a chore; only the things you can carry.

It gets fixed, Tuesday afternoon. Drove it around, gave it a workout. Yup, done. Thanks.

Oh hey, Target has the cheaper deal on the two disc DVD edition of "300: Rise Of An Empire", one dollar cheaper than Best Buy's tag - which I didn't own at the time.

A dollar?

Well it's a savings since Target is far more nearer to my home than Best Buy - so overall milage and discount IS an advantage.

I get there and pick up their weekly ad and flip through it.

WTF?

Tiny text under the entry: "exclusive content".

Frack me.

Somehow I missed this exclusive - knowing in advance and planning accordingly. So "300" got put on the back burner (which I did get, that year's Black Friday at Wal-Mart). I want this title more.

So there I am at the shelves - new arrivals. The spaces reserved for season one is empty; DVD and BD. I look for help; asking if there were more copies? I did check their TV section first, making sure they didn't have additional copies here (Best Buy does that). Nope.

The woman I spoke to said, they got ONE COPY (DVD) with the bonus disc. And that they have another shipment the following day. There may be a restock, but since it's an exclusive, quantities may have all ready sold out.

Joy.

So I return the next morning. Yes. They did get more copies of season one. A total of two of them with the bonus disc - one for each format. I snatch it up the DVD. I'm sure they're were disappointed customers who didn't come in that morning before me.

How rare is this?

Do not know, but Target stores were random. Reading online; some on release day didn't carry it at all; others had a few copies, but no exclusives. And like mine, if they did it - just a couple of them.

That kind of stocking isn't out of the ordinary for them.

The store has a history of having quite limited exclusives. What comes to mind is "Across The Universe" DVD sets, few stores got that 2008 exclusive book, "The Rough Guide To The Beatles". It has various band information and lots of photos. Mine store did not. I did the same, came back the next day. Nope, same conclusion - squat.

My Target never got the exclusive by the way. *shakes head*

I still don't have that item, it's on my want list.

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Tangent.

"Masters Of Sex" takes place in 1956 (or rather starts). That got me thinking of other TV period dramas; good ones.

There have been quite a few...



Shows like "Mad Men" (2007; the gold standard), "Boardwalk Empire" (2009; previous PT), "The Playboy Club" (2011), "Pan Am" (2011), "Magic City" (2012) and "Halt And Catch Fire" (2014). And yeah, that's a great poster image for "The Playboy Club". *smiles*

I remember the outcry over ABC's decision not to have any smoking in their series - portraying a sanitized version of the 1960s with "Pam Am". It didn't hurt the show, but that absence didn't help either. If you're gonna do a period program, why would you not show that? That's like doing a cowboy series with all the indians conveniently absent.

Yes, there are more period shows (some airing now), but I'm limiting my showcase (mostly) to the mid 20th century, forward.

Of all the shows, the one I'm most sadden over its cancelation is "Magic City". Don't get me wrong, I love "Mad Men" and "Boardwalk Empire", but they got to stretch legs and we saw their majestic horizons. "Magic City" was cut just was it was making its stride. Things got real at the conclusion of season two... then no more. Damn it.

Going back to HCF for a moment.

The first time I saw actress Mackenzie Davis (from "Halt And Catch Fire") was "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson"; June 27th, 2014. She's quite a playful gal. Reminds me a lot of Keira Knightley. Davis wore a low hemmed, sun dress and Craig gave her a twirl before sitting down for the interview.

You can imagine what happened next. She had biker shorts under that in case you're curious. You perv. *smile*

Man, I miss you Ferguson and Letterman.

The show's title refers to a code HCF, which could can brick a computer.

Yup, these are random bits.

Something I didn't know at the time; there were talks for a second season of "Pan Am" having Amazon picking up the show for their new streaming service. Too bad, would've been nice.

The former series stars a pre-famous, Margot Robbie. The current, It Girl; she's the one on the far left of that promo poster image.

I recall the moans from "The Playboy Club"; folks complained that Nick Dalton (Eddie Cibrian) was a pale imitation of Don Draper (Jon Hamm) from "Mad Men". I didn't feel that. Both men are smooth talkers, players as it were. But not much beyond that. What were they expecting?